


Crush

by Srcbabies



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie/OC is temporary, Enjoy!, Jim/Pam/Roy vibes, Like...literally, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, bc we stan reddie in this household, but wbk of that fact, these men are pining™️ so hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22357306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Srcbabies/pseuds/Srcbabies
Summary: “How’re you doing Tozier?” Rick clapped his meaty hand onto Richie’s shoulder, causing him to flinch. Richie smiled tensely before responding, “I’m fine, man.”“Keeping Eddie occupied, I see?” Eddie froze, feeling his face flush guiltily this time, looking nervously between the two men standing in front of his desk. He gripped his empty pudding cup, hearing the plastic crush under the force of his grip. Rick’s eyes darted to the noise and he frowned before shaking his head.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Original Male Character(s), Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 18
Kudos: 78





	1. Chocolate pudding cups

**Author's Note:**

> I have no busniess writing this when I already have another office au in the works 😳 BUT I got this idea while watching a very specific scene in The Office the other day and I thought, “Yo, what if this was Reddie?” 
> 
> And so this came along...
> 
> Enjoy :)

It was like any other ordinary day at the office for Eddie. Answer the phone, transfer any calls, fax the required papers, yadda yadda yadda. It was boring, all the mundane tasks his job required of him and he wished for what must’ve been the twentieth time that afternoon alone, that he wasn’t stuck as a receptionist here at the office.

He had the least exciting job in the world.

_ At least, I’m the only one with the big desk though _ , he mused as he sat back in his comfy chair and ate his chocolate pudding cup in peace. His snack breaks were always a bright spot in Eddie’s day. 

That, and Richie Tozier. The man that sat approximately fifteen feet away from him everyday. The man, he’s pretty sure, was slowly driving him crazy, one day at a time. 

He felt a connection the second he met Richie, but surely everyone feels that way after making a new friend at work, right? And besides, Richie was easy to get along with. He was the entire office’s friend by the time five o’clock had rolled around his first day on the job. Everyone immediately took a liking to him and his constant joking around, that it was hard to imagine the office  _ before  _ Richie started working here. 

And while everyone here was extremely friendly and much more interesting than him (in Eddie’s opinion), Richie, for some reason, decided to latch onto Eddie and spend all of his free time hanging out by his desk, eating the candy Eddie always put out for the entire office. He was pretty sure though, that Richie ate more candy than everyone else combined. Not that Richie was complaining, the sugar-obsessed man-child that he was. 

Eddie would find it annoying (and half the time he  _ did _ ), but he was secretly thankful for Richie’s friendship. Before, he was just the receptionist that stayed all too happily in his little area, working to run out the clock so that he can go home. But now, he had something to look forward to when going to work. Something  _ else _ , besides his beloved pudding cups.

He was just about done with the one he was snacking on now, when he heard someone stop in front of his desk, no doubt leaning on the surface with their arms folded.

_ Richie _ , he smiled before looking up, meeting the taller man’s eyes. 

“You finished with that, Eds?” He rolled his eyes.

“Don’t call me that, asshole and why do you ask?” Eddie threw away his spoon. “Want to lick the rest, Rich?” He held up his cup and smirked.

He saw Richie’s eyes darken just a fraction, before licking his lips and grinning widely. “That’s not the only thing I want to lick,” He winked and Eddie felt his face flush in response to not only his words, but the low tone Richie said it in. Okay, this was inappropriate. He needed to stop this before it got out of control.

Shame that he didn’t want to though.

Eddie was about to reply when he saw out of the corner of his eye, Rick enter the office through the front door. 

Oh right, his fiancé.

He shouldn’t be flirting when he has a fiancé. He shouldn’t be flirting with  _ Richie.  _ Eddie’s eyes widened in realization and felt a wave of guilt take over him. 

He was a  _ shitty  _ boyfriend, jesus christ.

Richie saw where his eyes were diverted to and glanced over his shoulder. It was almost comical how he immediately cleared his throat and stood up straight, clumsily reaching for the jelly beans on his desk while diverting his eyes. Eddie would have laughed but didn’t have the energy to as he watched Rick walking towards his desk with a small smile on his face. 

“How’re you doing Tozier?” Rick clapped his meaty hand onto Richie’s shoulder, causing him to flinch. Richie smiled tensely before responding, “I’m fine, man.”

“Keeping Eddie occupied, I see?” Eddie froze, feeling his face flush guiltily this time, looking nervously between the two men standing in front of his desk. He gripped his empty pudding cup, hearing the plastic crush under the force of his grip. Rick’s eyes darted to the noise and he frowned before shaking his head.

“What did I tell you about eating these, babe?” He tsked. “You eat too many of them and you’ll inflate. Do you really want to gain weight now and ruin our wedding pics later?”

He was in the best shape of his life, but Eddie still found himself shaking his head, wanting to appease Rick. “Of course I don’t. I was just hungry.”

“And that’s how it starts. First you’re hungry and want a taste, and then hours later, you’re stuck staring at the mess you made, feeling bloated by all the chocolate pudding you just ate. This is why we don’t have this at home because I know how much you can’t resist it—” Eddie nodded dumbly, internally cringing at the fact that Rick decided to  _ lecture him on this  _ when Richie was still here,  _ still _ pretending to be interested in the jelly beans on his desk.

He never felt more embarrassed in his life. Usually, Rick waited until they got home to lecture him about any mistakes he made during the day. 

“I don’t trust you with the candy laid out on your desk too.” 

Eddie frowned and shook his head, “I put that out for everyone to eat, I barely touch—“

“The temptation, Eddie,” Rick interrupted. “I know how much of a sweet-tooth you got,” He eyed the pudding cup, still in his hand, disapprovingly. 

Eddie nodded mutely and moved to throw away the cup, willing to do anything at this point to stop him from continuing his rant. He shot an apologetic look to Richie before looking at the other man again.

“What’re you doing up here anyways?” Eddie asked. His fiancé worked downstairs, as one of the warehouse workers who do the heavy lifting of their company and loaded their products to be shipped to their customers. A job he admired at the beginning but as time passed, he grew annoyed with because it gave Rick the excuse to constantly check up on him at random points in the day. 

Like right now.

“What? Your fiancé can't check up on you anymore?” He smiled lightly before patting his cheek none too gently.

“I didn’t say th—“ A loud beeping interrupted him. Rick looked at his watch and sighed loudly before turning to Eddie again, and kissing his forehead. 

“I have to go and get this shipment out. I’ll see you later okay?” Rick walked off without waiting for his response. Eddie sighed before looking over at Richie, finding the man still munching on the jelly beans.

“You think you’ve had enough?” He teased. Richie chuckled softly and Eddie felt himself calm down at the sound. Richie always seemed to have that effect on him. 

Richie met his eyes, “I don’t think I’ll ever have enough.” Richie said, his gaze never wavering from his. He tapped a tune onto his desk with his hands and turned to walk away, back to his desk.

Eddie sat, staring at the other man in wonder for a second longer before turning back to his work. Because  _ who else  _ was going to fax those all-too-important papers that day. 

Eddie tuned out everything else while he busied himself with his work, waiting for the clock to tell him it was time to go home. He tuned out Rick throughout the entire drive home, not wanting to hear whatever sports game (he had zero interest in) prediction he had before the big game that night. 

He got into bed that night, wishing it was already the next day. He hated his job but it provided the break he desperately needed away from home.

And before he could dwell on the implications of  _ that _ , he fell asleep.

———

He tiredly walked into the office at nine in the morning the next day. He hung his coat on the coat rack and moved behind his desk, turning on his computer, ready to start whatever boring tasks he had to complete that day. Eddie pulled out his chair and was about to sit down when he noticed something already sitting there. 

A six pack of chocolate pudding cups. 

Eddie immediately perked up at the sight of his favorite snack.

He glanced up and saw Richie already looking at him. Eddie grinned wide and mouthed a silent  _ thank you _ . Richie nodded and mouthed back  _ you’re welcome  _ before completely ruining the moment and shooting finger guns his way.

Eddie rolled his eyes and looked back down at the present and felt his heart flutter.

God, he loved Richie Tozier.

_ Wait _ , he froze. 

_ Oh fuck. _


	2. Tell me a joke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie’s freaking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy 😉

“You’re acting weird today.” Eddie swallows. They’re eating their lunch together in the break room, like they always do and it’s almost too much for him. Eddie  _ knows _ he’s been acting weird; but could Richie, just for one day, not read him like a fucking book. It’s not helping in the slightest. Not when Eddie’s been busy having a crisis since his subconscious decided to drop that little bomb on him this morning. 

He was in love with Richie.

“N-no I’m not.” He denies and stuffs a forkful of his salad into his mouth all too quickly. And if he looks even more suspicious now, he doesn’t know, because he’s too busy freaking out over the possibility of Richie seeing right through him. 

Which was ridiculous. Because Richie surely couldn’t; it’s not like the words  _ ‘I realized that I was in love with you today and I can’t stop thinking about it’ _ were printed on his forehead for everyone to see. For  _ him  _ to see. And if it was, well, Richie couldn’t read it anyways. The print would have to be small enough to fit onto his forehead and Richie’s too fucking blind to read all tha—

Eddie sighed and ignored the strong urge to roll his eyes at himself. Jesus christ, he was going off the deep end. Of course, it wasn’t there. Eddie had nothing to worry about.

Right?

“Yeah, you are man. Everything alright?” Richie asks, and Eddie could feel his heart warm at his concern. He couldn’t remember the last time Rick had even asked him that.

And wasn’t that thought just so fucking discomforting. His own fiancé, the man he thought he would spend the rest of his life with, never bothers to ask him about his feelings, while his best friend does. 

Richie  _ always  _ did, Eddie’s beginning to realize. 

“I’m fine really,” Eddie says, and meets Richie’s eyes this time, in hopes that his statement will seem more sincere. Which was a bad idea in the long run, because now Eddie can see the concern so clear in his eyes, it causes him to feel things he can’t even begin to describe.

All he knows is that he can’t make himself look away from Richie. Not just yet, anyways.

“If you say so,” Eddie sighs in relief. 

Richie switches topics. “Why aren’t you currently devouring the pudding cups I got you then?” 

At the reminder of the chocolatey goodness sitting in the kitchen’s fridge, neatly labeled and just waiting for him at a later date, Eddie finally cracks a genuine smile. “I’m saving them,” He nods and continues ruefully, “I only have six and if I finish them too quickly, I’ll be all out. And who knows when I’ll get more considering what Rick said yesterday.” He rolls his eyes. Rick was serious about not having them at home, always saying Eddie didn’t need to eat the extra fattening snack food when they had perfectly acceptable substitutes at home. Eddie wrinkled his nose at the thought,  _ as if you could even substitute carrot sticks for chocolate pudding, eugh.  _ One was, clearly, the better option and Eddie would never change his mind about that. 

Lost in his thoughts about his dislike for carrot sticks, Eddie failed to notice Richie’s changed expression right away. He curiously looked up and found Richie staring dumbly at him while frowning slightly. 

Oh fuck.  _ Did  _ he have those words printed on his forehead?! Oh god. Oh no ( _ nonononono _ ), this was so bad. Richie’s never gonna want to talk to him again now and work will become unbearable. He’ll have to transfer to another branch, and wasn’t that just a fucking hassle on top of everything! Moving apartments, not to mention fucking states, because the closest branch to them in their company was all the way in stupid Stamford. How in the hell was he gonna break the news to—

Richie chose that exact moment to speak up finally, “I could just buy you more, if you want,” His expression altogether different now. Almost bashful. And all Eddie could do was wonder  _ why _ he was frowning a moment ago.

But then he registers what Richie said.

“You don’t have to,” Eddie shakes his head. “I can survive without them, you know?” And okay, that’s a lie. But still, he didn’t want Richie spending any more money on him. 

“That’s a fucking lie and you know it, Spaghetti.” Richie teased and crossed his arms, leaning forward to rest them on the table in front of him. He’s looking all too smug right now and Eddie would be lying if he said the sight didn’t make his brain short circuit for a moment.

He needs to stop it, or else Richie  _ will _ find out.

_ Nuh-uh, nope. No fucking way will that ever happen,  _ he decided _. _

“Asshole,” Eddie replied, out of habit. He hates the stupid nickname Richie prefers to use on him the most. 

He also hates the way his stomach flips when Richie just beams at him in response.

Still, Eddie couldn’t stop himself from smiling back.

“I’ll buy you more, yeah?” Richie simply offered and Eddie breathed in. He didn’t have to, but Richie would do it anyways. He just knew that it would make him happy.

Eddie stared at him for a moment before finally giving in and nodding. He couldn’t tell him no, not even if he wanted to. 

Richie’s expression softened. “It could be our little secret.”

“Yeah.”

———

“Edward Boredom!” A male voice in front of him boomed. He recognized that voice all too well. Eddie sighed, counting to ten before looking up from his computer. It was Bill, his very...eccentric boss. Bill was smiling expectantly at him, waiting for a reaction. 

When he got none, Bill continued. “Play on words,” He clarifies somewhat awkwardly. “Uh-Edward Norton. Edward Boredom. You could be such a bore at times so—did you really not get it man?”

Yeah, he got it. 

Eddie simply shook his head, “Sorry.” He glanced to Bill’s right and saw Audra, Bill’s boss, standing there looking just as annoyed as he felt. 

“Bill, could we just-“ Audra spoke up, pointing to her watch. 

He looked at her and nodded. “Okay, let’s do this thing,” Bill took one final look around the office and addressed him again, “Wish us luck, Eddie?” 

“Wish you luck on what?” He questioned.

Bill rolled his eyes playfully, “You could be such a bimbo sometimes,” He chuckles and looks back to Audra to go in for a high five; entirely missing Eddie’s glare.

“Really Bill?” Audra scolds him and dodges his hand. 

His boss seemed to remember who Audra was and cleared his throat, turning towards him again. “The s-sale remember? Lackawanna County.” He drummed his fingers anxiously onto his desk.

Eddie nodded, “Right, good luck then.”  _ Bye. _

Bill suddenly leaned in, “Could you do something for me?” He whispered and before Eddie could say anything, Bill went on, “This meeting could get dull so could you go through my desk drawer and find my joke book and just text me the best ones you find? You know how it is with these things.” He snorts. 

Uhh...

“Sure,” Eddie readily agrees, anything to get Bill to leave. 

Bill beams at him, “You’re the best, Eddie! See you.” He waved, walking all too happily beside an irritated Audra. He didn’t know who he felt more bad for at the moment. 

Eddie just shook his head and sighed before getting up to find his boss’ joke book.  _ This should be good, _ he thought. He passed Richie’s desk and Richie gave him a curious look. Eddie just shrugged in response and entered Bill’s office, not at all ready to go through countless jokes and pick out the best ones his boss thinks could woo their potential client. 

Come to think of it actually, this job would be better suited for Richie. Eddie snickered at that thought while opening the bottom left desk drawer and immediately finding the book. 

_ Here we go _ . 

A half hour and what must’ve been three dozen texts later, Eddie finally closed the book and went to put it back in the drawer. He stopped though, when he noticed a thick stack of papers sitting at the bottom.

He curiously grabbed them and read the top page. He furrowed his brow and flipped through the rest of the pages, scanning it’s contents and his eyes widened in realization.

_ Oh my god,  _ Eddie held back his laughter.

It was a fucking screenplay. Bill’s screenplay.

He’s got to show Richie this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it so funny that I made Bill into “Michael” in this skdjksjdkd. I may or may not add some of the other Losers into this, who knows!
> 
> We are moving along lmao. I can’t wait to get the next chapter out 💝

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?


End file.
